Improvement in vehicle-wheels



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. W VALENTINE. Vehicle-Wheel.

No. 222,611. Patented Dec. 16, 1879.

'rArEs WALDO vv.vALENr1NE, or BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN VEHICLE-WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 222,6 [1, datedDecember 16, 1879.; application filed February 20, 1879.

. This invention has general reference to im-.

provements in vehicle-wheels; and it consists in the'peculiarcombination of parts and details of construction, as hereinafter firstfully set forth and described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings already mentioned, which serve to illustrate my saidinvention more fully, Figurel is a front elevation of my improvedvehicle-wheel, showing its general arrangement and the' locationofparts. Fig. 2 is a plan of the hub. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same,illustrating the disposition of the spokes. Fig. 4. is a perspectiveview of the wedge-key used for locking the spoke-bands. Fig. 5 is a planof a hub slightly modified. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevationin line 00 as of Fig. 8. Fig. 7 is a similar view, il lustrating themanner of inserting the spokes.

. Fig. 8 is an end view of the hub. Fig. 9 is a transverse sectionthrough the tire and fell y. Fig. 10 is a similar view, showing thespokes in position. Fig. 11 is a sectional view of a fragment of thehub.

Like parts are designated by corresponding letters of reference in allthe various figures.

A is the felly, and B the tire, of my wheel, made in the usual manner. 0is a band placed into the inner circumference of the folly A. d.

d are the spokes, made of wire of light gage, bent into a form somewhatresembling an inverted letter U, and represented in Fig. 10.

E is the wooden hub. It is surrounded by two metallic bands, F F, havingtheir joint midway between the spokes d d. These bands havewrench-sections f, by means of which they are manipulated in a mannerhereinafter described. They are, furthermore, provided with a series ofapertures, g, for the reception of theends of the spokes d d.

In the edges of the bands F F are a series of notches, g, to admit awedge-key, 9', Figs. 4 and 6, wherewith the bands F F are held in properposition after the spokes are inserted and tensioned. The number ofnotches g in one band does not correspond with that in the other band,so that they will not register when the bands are placed together. Theobject of thus making these notches differential is to provide for meansof tensioning the spokes and then looking the bands F.

In the wooden hub E there are two grooves, H, placed a distance apartequaling the distance between the members (I d of the spokes, plusdouble the length of the bent part of the spokes within the hub-bands FF.

In putting together a wheel of the kind de scribed, the inner band, C,is first placed into the folly A. This felly has in its perimeter aseries of notches, j, Fig. 9, equaling in number that of the spokes d ord, and in its faces grooves j, to receive the upper part of said spokes.The parts dof these spokes are as. wide as the felly or tire, and theseparts are placed into the notches j, and the members d d, with theirends, into the apertures g in the bands F F, said bands being placedupon the hub E so that said apertures register with the grooves H.Allthe spokes being thus inserted,

the tire B, or a suitable temporary tire, is placed over the felly, andthe hub'bands F F forced together until their faces meet. The hub-bandsbeing thus forced together cause the ends of the spokes to bend at, ornearly at, right angles, and thereby to be clinched on the inner side ofsaid bands, at the same time embedding themselves into the protuberantpart of said wooden hub E. Now the two ban dsFF are taken hold of by thewrenchsections f with any suitable wrench, and turned in oppositedirections as far as necessary, to tension all the spokessimultaneously, after which the key 9 is placed into that pair ofnotches g which will register, to keep the hubbands in their properposition. v

I have heretofore said that the notches g are difierentially arranged,so that when one set of notches register the next set will slightlydeviate, the difference increasing with every succeeding set of notches.By this arrangement there will always be one set of notches thatregister and allow the hub-bands being locked.

This construction enables me to retension the spokes, if necessary, bysimply withdrawing the key, slightly rotating the bands, and reinsertingthe key.

For the spokes d d I prefer to use wireof, say, No. 14 gage for a wheelof from three to four feet in diameter, adapted for light vehicles, andcomparatively larger wire for stron ger wheels; but since thelatter wireis not so readily bent, because the wooden hub E is not capable ofoffering sufficient resistance, I modify the construction of the hub andhands by I first placing a tube, G, Fig. 7, upon the wooden hub E, whichtube has a protuberant part, g, Fig. 6, and two side projections, "i.This tube being secured to the hub, the'bands F F are placed upon it,and the spokes cl d inserted before they are pushed together, the mannerof clinching said spokes being identical with that already described,except that the parts it, being made of metal, are better able to bendthe ends of the said spokes. This method of construction is clearlyillustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and 7.

The bands F F (shown in Fig. 2) necessitate drillin gof theapertures gfor receiving the spokes'd d. To avoid this extra work, 1 pro- 'vide thebands shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 with notches g in their edges, whichnotches may be produced in the process of casting said bands. Thisconstruction is cheaper than the one previously described; but itnecessitates a change in the location of the lockingnotches g, which, asshown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are discarded and holes substituted. Theseholes are diiferentiall y arranged, and therefore afford all theadvantages of. the differentiatingnotches illustrated in Fig. 2.

My wheel has two divisions or sections of spokesthat is to say, all thespokes d on one side of the felly A, being those fastenedin the band F,form one division or section, and the spokes d, fastened in the band Fon the other side of the felly, form the second division or section.Hence, in speaking of a spoke-division, reference is had to all thespokes'on one side or the other of said felly, while in referrin g to ahub-section one side or the other of the hub with its corresponding bandis meant.

A peculiar feature of my wheel is that the two. divisions of the spokesare parallel, or nearly parallel, to each other, or, in other words, thewheel is not dished. This I have designed to overcome one greatobjection to metallic-spoked wheels, which is that when the wheelreceives any thrust sidewise those spokes on the side opposite from thatfrom 'which the strain is applied are tensioned often beyond theirlimit, while those on that side nearest to the source of disturbanceareslackened.

Now in my wheel, where both divisions are parallel, all the spokespartake of and divide themselves into this strain, and therefore offergreater resistance to the disturbing cause than one division alone iscapable of resisting.

The spokes in my wheel do not act in the same manner as wooden or rigidspokes in common wheels, because they sustain their load by theirtensile strength, the upper half of said spokes only supporting the huband vehicle. Although this would at first sight seem to detract from thestrength of the wheel, it is nevertheless a fact that a wheelconstructed as described is far stronger than a more rigid wheel, owingto its superior flexibility and the combined tensile strength of onehalfof all the spoke-wires, and it'is, therefore, more durable and rideseasier than any other wheel with which I am acquainted.

In wheels which are placed upon the market without tires, I shallfurnish them either without the spokes being tensioned, or I shalltension them when under the influence of a temporary removable tire, sothat the contraction of the tire proper will not cause a correspondingcontraction of the felly, and consequently a looseness of the spokes.

Heretofore wheels were made with wire spokes and metallic rims having aT-shaped cross-section, and the spokes passed through an inwardlyprojecting flange or the web of said rim, the spokes crossing each othernear said web. Such spokes were fastened with their ends to-rin gsplaced upon movable pieces upon the axle-box, and were teusioncd bymovin g such pieces apart, and thereby varying the angle between thespokes, or, in other words, increasing the dish of the wheel. In thisconstruction the spokes are not teusioncd by rotating that part of thehub to which the spokes are fastened, so that this method of tensioningsaid spokes is entirely distinct from the construction hereinbeforedescribed, while the objection against dished wheels applies with allits force to such wheels.

I am aware that trussed or suspension wheels are not new, and Itherefore do not broadly claim a wheel composed of a rim and metallicspokes fastened with one end in or to said rim and with the other end tothe hub' or a part of the hub; nor do I broadly claim tensioning suchspokes after they are fastened to the said rim and hub; but

WVhat I do claim as new, and desire to se cure to me by LettersPatent ofthe United States, is-

1. A wheel constructed with flexible spokes consisting of membersd cl,the ends of which are secured to bands F F, said members passing to andacross the outer periphery of the felly without crossing each other, asspecified.

2. A wheel in which the felly or rim is connected by flexible spokeswith the hub, said spokes passing over the said felly on its outerperiphery at various points, and connecting the bands F F with theircorresponding side and point of said felly in a direct line, as stated.

3. A trussed wheel in which the spokes are fastened in bands andstrained or tensioned byrotating said bands in'opposite directions, asspecified.

4. A trussed wheel in which tension is given simultaneously to. all thespokes in equal degree by rotating those parts of the hubs to which therespective ends of the spokes are fastened.

5. Awheel in which the spokes do not pierce the felly, but are conductedaround it upon three of its sides, and let into said sides to the depthof the diameter of said spokes.

6. A wheel having two spoke-divisions tensioned by revolving those partsofthe hub to which the respective ends of said spokes are fastened inopposite directions said hub parts being provided with means,substantially as described, for retaining the spokes in a tensionedstate, as specified.

7. A wheel having two spokedivisions fastened in two hub-bands, saidspoke-divisions being tensioned by revolving the hub-bands in beingprovided with a differential fastenin g, as

and for the use and purpose indicated.

9. The combination, with the hub E, having the bands F F, provided witha differential fiistening, of the spokes d 01, secured within saidhub-bands, and tensioned by revolving said hub-bands in oppositedirections, as

stated.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have heretoset my hand and affixed my seal in the presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

W. W. VALENTINE.

Witnesses:

MICHAEL J. STARK, FRANK Hansen.

